Letter: New TDC Board; Well what's new this time?

As a note to the new board of directors at the TDC, we've been down this road of change many times before, we've heard and had all the grandiose plans and foreign CEOs, yet still we are at the bottom in every aspect of tourism in our region.

What are you going to come up with that have not been said and attempted before? What reasons can you give me to hope that it will "not be business as usual," we have heard that many times before also.

Are we going to continue placing false hopes in business and convention tourism, European visitors, the wealthy and affluent or are we going to rely on foreign travel agents and Expedia to bail us out and promote us? What have these elements done for us lately? How much longer should we wait for results?

Sometimes I have to wonder who is actually benefiting from our tourism strategies, certainly not the people of Trinidad and Tobago, who is? Do we have another Udecott on our hands? Unless and until I see a fundamental departure of the old tourism strategies that have gotten us no where, I will not hope, or be convinced that we can expect better.

Unless out tourism officials are reined in from all there futile strategies and overseas travel adventures, disguising it as marketing, I will not be convinced that better is coming.

I want to believe in this new administration, but I would also like to hear less talk and propaganda and more concrete results! I am fed up of hearing all the initiatives, like new website, business tourism etc. etc. etc., but we never hear about the results after that, and if we do hear something, it's quite vague and insignificant at best.

I wish the new board well, but this country want to see DRASTIC change and urgent RESULTS... You were voted in on the premise of CHANGE, we expect nothing less. Enough is enough!

David Maundy
dmaundy@gmail.com